joining me on the telephone is the teen's father, robert vanderhorst. good morning, robert. happened to your son at the airport. have you heard from american airlines since the the incident and have they refunded your upgrade fee to first class? >> i have not heard from either airline, american airlines or united since the events of last sunday. >> cnn we should say reached out to american airlines. they released this statement, quote, amerins actions and procedures are in full compliance with the air carrier access act. we do not have formally lodged complaint from the family but a refund of the upgrade. however, because of the denied boarding we must respond to the family within 10 days of travel. the vanderhorst family will here from us very soon. what do you make of that response and tell me how your son is doing. >> first of all to the american airlines response. they are such chickens. they could pick up the phone and call me. they could e-mail me. i haven't heard from them directly. so all i know is what people tell me they said, okay in the next thing is, you know, t

. >> robert vanderhorst says he was flying from newark to los angeles on sunday with his wife and their6-year-old son who has down syndrome. but then word came from the pilot that they could not board the flight home. >> i think the pilot was concerned that my son was going to be in first class. and that i think the pilot felt that my type of son, my disabled, down syndrome son, shouldn't be in first class. >> the vanderhorsts started recording the airport scene on a cell phone. american airlines said the boy was not ready to fly because he was agitated and running around the gate area prior to boarding. but his parents say that is simply not true. >>> a massachusetts court ruling is sparking both praise and outrage in the case of a transgender prison inmate. a judge has agreed that the state department of corrections must pay for the inmate's sex reassignment surgery. michelle kosilek was born a man but takes female hormones and lives as a woman in the all-male prison. she is serving life in prison for murder. >>> a new study suggests more lives could be saved if doctors in hospitals p

. >> joan and robert vanderhorst told us as they waited to board an american airlines flight with their son they were told they weren't allowed on. >> my question is why are you singling me out, why aren't you telling them and them and them and all these people that have children that they have to -- >> we are in a security controlled area, you cannot be recording this. >> joan pulled out her cell phone and began to videotape documenting what she believes was a violation of her son's civil rights and the americans with disabilities act. her son labeled a flight risk can be seen in the video sitting at the gate, quietly playing with his hat. in the video, you can hear joan sobbing and her husband expressing disbelief. >> he's behaving. he's demonstrating he's not a problem. >> i kept saying is this only because he has down's syndrome. >> the family has flown together dozens of times. the only thing different they had upgraded for the first time to first class. >> if that little boy just had a seat in first class area, and for some reason they didn't want that, that wasn't acceptable. >>

the fresno bee reports robert vanderhorst, his wife and 16-year-old son with down's syndrome were toldhey couldn't get on their newark flight on sunday. why? because their son, quote, was not ready to fly. the airline claims the teenager was agitated and was running around the gate area right before boarding. the attorney says none of that is true. he believes after upgrading his family to first class for $675, the airline was afraid his son might disturb the other first-class passengers. american rebooked the family on a united airlines flight in the last row of coach. the family actually released some video as well showing that boy sitting right next to his mom and playing with a hat. i'm sure we'll have much more on that story. >> thanks, zoraida. for an expanded look at all our top stories you can head to your blog, cnn.com/earlystart. >>> one week from today apple will reveal its latest gadget. and we think we know what it is. more on that coming up. [ female announcer ] quaker yogurt granola bars. they're whole grain good... and yummy good. real fruit pieces. 12 grams of whole gr